The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as the nation's 88th attorney general on a 50-49 party-line vote Saturday, but only after the former Trump defense lawyer agreed in writing to kill a controversial billion-dollar fund that nearly sank his own nomination.
The confirmation came in the early morning hours before the August recess, capping weeks of intra-party friction that exposed real concerns among Senate Republicans about the Justice Department's direction under Blanche's watch. Two GOP senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, broke ranks and voted with every Democrat against the nomination, the New York Post reported.
The margin was as narrow as it could get. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was absent due to ongoing health issues, leaving Republicans with no room for error. That made Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana the deciding vote, and Cassidy did not make it easy.
Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump of incitement following Jan. 6, 2021, and lost his own primary in May after Trump endorsed his opponent, framed his decision in bluntly pragmatic terms. He faulted Blanche for "showed poor judgment in approving the anti-weaponization slush fund and exempting the president from IRS audits," as well as allowing the DOJ to target the president's political enemies.
But Cassidy said the alternative, leaving the Justice Department under an acting leader indefinitely, posed its own risks. As Breitbart reported, Cassidy warned that rejecting Blanche could undermine ongoing federal efforts against violent crime, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and fraud:
"This puts at risk the progress made fighting violent crime, human and drug trafficking, and fraud. And this does not serve the American people well."
In the end, Cassidy cast his vote with a careful qualifier, as AP News reported:
"This is not a referendum on President Trump. It is a decision regarding Mr. Blanche in very specific circumstances."
The controversy that brought Blanche's confirmation to the brink centered on a May 19 DOJ order that authorized a $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund. The same order granted Trump, his family, and his business entities immunity from IRS audits, part of a settlement of a lawsuit the president had filed against the tax-collecting agency.
The fund and the audit shield drew sharp pushback from within the Republican caucus. Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina demanded a "written document" affirming the fund had been killed and clarifying whether the president and his family remained shielded from future IRS audits. Their demands stalled the confirmation vote for days.
Blanche tried to put the issue to rest at his July 15 confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, declaring the fund "dead." But that verbal assurance was not enough for the holdouts. Ultimately, Blanche secured confirmation only after formally rescinding the fund and the IRS audit immunity provisions in writing, the Washington Examiner reported. The Examiner noted that Cassidy also consulted with former Attorney General Bill Barr before casting his deciding vote.
The Senate Judiciary Committee had cleared Blanche's nomination earlier in the week on a 12-10 party-line vote, with Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa shepherding the nomination through.
Grassley spoke on the Senate floor ahead of the vote, making a direct pitch for Blanche's fitness for the role:
"Mr. Blanche is nominated to one of the most important offices in our country, and he has shown that he's up to that task. His impressive background and the presentation at our hearing in the Judiciary Committee are proof that he's led the Justice Department with distinction and is well suited to continue doing that."
Grassley went further, tying the confirmation to public safety:
"Between his proven track record, his presentations to our committee and the support he's received from across the country, I am convinced Mr. Blanche is the right choice to lead the Justice Department. A vote for Todd Blanche is a vote for the safety of the American people."
Murkowski and Collins were unmoved. Both cited Blanche's handling of documents related to notorious sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, the Trump-IRS settlement, and what they described as an increasingly politicized Justice Department that has gone after the president's political enemies. Neither senator provided verbatim public statements explaining their votes in detail, but their objections tracked the same concerns Cassidy raised, without Cassidy's ultimate willingness to accept Blanche's written assurances as sufficient.
Blanche, a 51-year-old Colorado native, took an unusual path to the attorney general's office. He served as Trump's personal criminal defense lawyer before joining the administration as deputy attorney general. When Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 2, he elevated Blanche to acting AG.
In that acting capacity, Blanche moved quickly to advance the administration's priorities. AP News reported that he immediately began accelerating investigations into perceived foes and advancing Trump's interests across the department. That aggressive posture fueled both the support and the opposition he faced in the Senate.
After the vote, Blanche released a statement acknowledging the weight of the office. The Just the News outlet confirmed the final 50-49 tally, with the two Republican defections making it one of the narrowest attorney general confirmations in modern history.
Blanche himself addressed the confirmation in a statement reported by the Washington Examiner:
"I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice as our great nation's 88th Attorney General."
Every Senate Democrat voted against Blanche. Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, framed the stakes in stark terms during the debate:
"If there is ever a moment in history when we need an Attorney General above reproach, who is clearly dedicated to ending corruption, even at the highest level of our government, it's right now."
That argument failed to peel off any additional Republican votes beyond Murkowski and Collins. But it underscored the degree to which Blanche's tenure, both as acting AG and now as the confirmed leader of the Justice Department, will face sustained scrutiny from the minority party.
Several open questions remain. The precise details of the written rescission Blanche provided to Cornyn and Tillis have not been made public. Whether the anti-weaponization fund was formally dissolved by a new DOJ order, or simply declared inoperative, is unclear. And the full scope of Blanche's handling of the Epstein-related documents, the specific concern Murkowski and Collins cited, has not been detailed in public testimony or released records.
Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, but this vote showed that majority can evaporate fast when a nominee's own conduct gives skeptics within the caucus reason to balk. Blanche survived because he was willing to put his reversal in writing, and because one senator decided the alternative was worse.
An attorney general who had to rescind his own order to save his own confirmation starts the job with a lesson most nominees learn the other way around: the Senate may confirm you, but it will make sure you remember who did.
